After leaving the elder, Qi Ping continued with his plan. Whether the elder was truthful didn't matter; it wouldn't change his path. The only significance of that encounter was the realization that the upper tier of the cultivation world wasn't entirely rotten. Beyond the Mysterious Black Market, there were still those struggling against the Celestial Alliance.
However, the plan to eradicate the Alliance's claws was something he would do alone. There was no need to involve those few cultivators who still retained some humanity. Though the Great Dao is heartless, Qi Ping still had his bottom line. If the path to immortality required slaughtering all life and breaking the world, how much longer could the cultivation world exist?
At the very least, Qi Ping couldn't do it. A Druid's power comes from nature. If the land is broken, where does a Druid's power come from? His passives and arrays all relied on a strong world. For that reason alone, he could not stand by.
'This will be the spot!'
To ensure the plan's success, Qi Ping chose a place with active earth-fire. This place was called Linhuo County, famous for its intense earth-fire and powerful fire-attribute energy. Here, Qi Ping had a much better chance of setting up his Rank 2 High-grade [Six-Ding Flame Snake Array]! This array could manifest six flame snakes with the strength of late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. As long as the array stood, the snakes would never die! With the boost from the violent earth-fire here, the power of the array would be significantly increased.
After confirming the environment was suitable and near a target Foundation Establishment family, Qi Ping began his preparations. With ample time and the array bases he had already carved in his sanctuary, it took several days to successfully set up five 'Three-in-One' grand arrays!
The difficulty of the Six-Ding Flame Snake Array was far higher than the Fire Crow Array. A normal cultivator would struggle even to find the materials. Only because Qi Ping had harvested so much loot did he have enough. Each array cost over ten thousand spirit stones in materials; these five sets were worth over fifty thousand spirit stones—and that was without counting his labor as a formation master.
'Six-Ding Flame Snake as the core, with Mystic-Gold Slaughter and Binding Arrays as support... it's finally done!'
'Good! Now I just need to lure the pursuers here!'
Qi Ping hoped enough cultivators would come; otherwise, the cost of the arrays wouldn't be recouped. Fifty thousand spirit stones was no small sum. But he was confident. Many people were eyeing the bounty, and as long as he 'accidentally' leaked his tracks and guided the encirclement toward Linhuo County, they would follow. Success wasn't guaranteed, nor could he ensure no Golden Core cultivators would come, but since it was just a Treant Clone, failure carried no real cost.
From a probability standpoint, success was likely. With the previous Bee Daoist's self-detonation as a precedent, these people would likely swarm him to prevent him from blowing up again, falling straight into his trap.
"The circle is closing! The Bee Daoist's luck has run out!"
"His hiding ability is truly impressive. Anyone else would have been caught by now!"
"He's killed so many of our people. We should capture him alive and torture him for centuries!"
"Capture? Do you dare? The last one at the early stage blew up a late-stage cultivator. This one is at the middle stage—aren't you afraid of being turned into scrap?"
"Exactly. This time, we surround him together and kill him rationally. Even if he tries to blow up, our combined strength can block it. The bounty is huge; we can all get a share. And he must have a lot of wealth and secrets on him..."
Others nodded in agreement. It was better to be safe and take a share of the spoils than to risk everything. It wasn't easy to reach their level; earning a profit without risk was the preferred path.
Soon, they received word: the Bee Daoist had been wounded by a 'Perfected' Foundation Establishment cultivator and was likely fleeing toward Linhuo County. Some of his bees had been spotted there; they were hiding well, but not well enough. As the news spread, many Foundation Establishment cultivators rushed toward Linhuo County!
"The Bee Daoist is finished!"
"As long as he dares attack the Chu Family in Linhuo, he won't have a chance to escape!"
"He could have survived a bit longer, but he thinks his bees are himself? Can they hide from the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Only the Bee Daoist himself has that freakish hiding ability!"
"Do you think it could be a trap?"
"What is there to fear with so many of us? He's a stray dog; what trap could he have? The Qing Tian Region is our territory!"
"True! There's nothing to fear on our own turf!"
Once the tracks were found, the news spread like a storm. Nearly twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators converged on Linhuo County. They were certain he would die this time! By their estimates, there were at least seven or eight late-stage cultivators and potentially two 'Perfected' ones in the group. With such a lineup, how could the Bee Daoist survive?
'The time should be right!'
Hiding in Linhuo County, Qi Ping calculated the timing and launched his attack on the Chu Family. He struck a weak point in their protective array with a single, devastating punch!
BOOM!
The Chu Family's array shattered instantly. However, Qi Ping didn't see the Chu Patriarch panic. Instead, the man wore a smirk, as if his scheme had succeeded. Qi Ping frowned, sensing that something was wrong. In the next moment, over twenty Foundation Establishment figures surged from all directions, surrounding him!
Qi Ping's face changed drastically. He turned and fled in a panic, choosing a seemingly random direction!
"Bee Daoist, stop dreaming! You can't escape!" the Chu Patriarch mocked. If the Bee Daoist died here, the Chu Family would receive a massive reward!